The need in the daylight
by Andrea.Cherrypie
Summary: Paige needs Warden. She knows that. But she wishes she didn't. A timeless fic which has my two favourite characters from "The Bone Season" interacting with each other. Based on one of my favourite scenes of the book. One-shot.


** A/N: This takes place one of the days (meaning nights) that Paige spends locked up, and she's just learned about her golden cord. There's not a specific date, so please try to disregard any outside happenings that may have gone on around this time. **

***Disclaimer: I wish I owned the Bone Season, but Samy Shannon beat me to it. Also, the picture belongs to Leiana, Samy's bestie and super talented artist. **

**Enjoy!**

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Paige Mahoney looked at Warden with... longing. He was asleep, on his bed. She wasn't even supposed to be here this early in the day. But she also knew she couldn't have resisted, and she blamed her new knowledge of the golden cord for it. It wasn't fair for her to be connected in this way with him. She didn't want to be involved with the enemy in any way, and yet her yearning to be close to him had been too strong to resist. Stupid golden cord, she thought. She knew she hadn't heard Warden calling her through it, but she was pretty damn sure he'd somehow managed to pull her to him.

Or, perhaps she had just wanted to see him, because she knew this would be the time when he would be most vulnerable. He wouldn't be her captor, or her mentor, or her teacher. At this time of the day, he wouldn't be able to hold any power over her, and wouldn't be able to look at her with his deep, changing eyes that made Paige's dreamscape quiver inside.

She was tired of pretending that he didn't hold any power over her. Not power in the physical, lawful way, but emotionally. She was tired of acting like he couldn't get to her, like she didn't care.

She just wanted to get her dignity back. To make him feel the same way, so that she wouldn't be the only prisoner in this metaphorical, emotional cage.

Warden was lying shirtless on his front side, with his head resting on his pillows and his back towards her. There wasn't any lamp on, but the daylight pushing against the curtains lit up the room just enough for her to see the outline of her surroundings.

A million thoughts rushed through Paige's mind. Perhaps she was finally strong enough to hurt him now that was vulnerable. Perhaps there wouldn't be another opportunity for it. Perhaps he wouldn't care. Perhaps he would. The powder that kills Rephaim should be here somewhere. She could look for it, spread it on his naked back. Perhaps watch as he dies. Perhaps not. Or get a knife and open more wounds, and let him bleed to death. She scanned the room and saw the blade of a knife resting on the table. She could do it, she knew she could. Then she would have to find her way out of this place...

She took a few steps closer to him. If she was going to do anything she would have to make sure he was asleep first, or he would stop her.

She stood on the bed next to him, watching as he breathed in and out, his back moving with every breath he took. For a moment he looked angelic to her, almost unreal, but there was something unusual here. Instead of feeling guilty for wanting to hurt him, Paige felt stronger. She was overwhelmed with a new wave of energy and strength, and she immediately felt closer to the aether.

There was only one explanation for it, and she didn't know she if she liked it.

Before she could plan her next move, however, she saw Warden stir in his bed, and then he slowly extended a hand towards her. When she realised what he was doing, she backed off, in shock. She didn't trust him. Couldn't trust him. And yet, before she knew what was happening, her feet were leading her up to him. She started to extend her arm too, but caught herself before it was too late, and her arm froze in mid-air.

"Please." She heard him say. It was merely no more than a whisper, but unlike what she had been expecting, it didn't carry a pleading note. Warden needed her but he wouldn't beg.

And that's what did it.

Paige moved her arm towards him and let her hand fall swiftly onto his gloved palm. Her touch was hesitant at first, but it became stronger, bolder after just a few seconds of feeling him.

Warden wouldn't beg to her because he wanted Paige to know that he would always give her a choice, and a choice obtained through pleading would be no choice at all.

Paige took his hand because she chose to, not because she was forced to.

Warden closed his hand on hers, and she let him.

"Emim?" She asked. He simply sighed in response.

"Warden," she said. "Please."

Hearing his words echoed back to him, Warden rolled on his right side, revealing a rip on his chest that stretched from his abdomen to the start of his neck.

"Oh for God's sake," she spit out the words, as if to show that she didn't care, that she was fed up with having to take care of him. But deep down she knew she was only angry because she cared, _a lot_.

She sat on the bed next to him and examined his new wound.

No wonder the room had felt so sensitive when she had come in, his bed was soaked in ectoplasma.

"Paige." Her names was spoken in a soft voice. "The gloves."

"Screw them" She replied.

"It's stopped now." He insisted. "I'm not losing it anymore. Please put some gloves on"

She knew he meant that he wasn't losing any of his ectoplasm anymore, that he was safe and she could stop worrying now. And she wanted that, to stop worrying. She wanted that so badly. But instead his words made her feel angrier.

She didn't excerpt any power over him. Now that he was awake she couldn't kill him in the way she had planned. And now that his bleeding had stopped, he wouldn't need her to bandage him up, or to _take care of him._ That in turn meant that Paige would not achieve what she most desperately wanted: to make him feel the way she felt. She had intended to hurt him, to show him that she was perfectly capable of walking out on him even knowing that that would kill him. She had intended to make him suffer...

Or had she?

No.

Of course not.

She had intended to subconsciously care for him, as always.

"The wound is already healing; I just need some rest to regain lost energy." He tried to argue, but Paige wouldn't have that.

She got up, went to the other side of the room, got the knife and came back to his side.

"Paige, what are you...?"

Before he could finish, however, she had already taken the knife and sliced a cut through her left hand. Blood poured from the wound like water, quickly covering the mattress underneath her in blood.

Paige extended her hand towards him for the second time in that day, but this time she wanted him to take it and put it in his mouth, and drink.

"Paige, I'm not going to-"

"Just do it. I'm losing it anyway." She cut him.

Warden looked directly at her, and both their dreamscapes seem to shudder for the slightest fraction for a second. He seemed to consider the facts in his head, to weigh the pros and the cons. Finally, he gave in.

He took her hand, located it above his mouth, and sucked. Hard.

It was even more exhilarating than last time. Paige could feel Warden's lips on her hand, his tongue pushing against her palm, his outwards breaths caressing the back of her index finger.

The blood loss made her vision cloudy for a moment, so she slowly sat back on the bed. When she looked at Warden, she realised he was staring right at her.

His eyes revealed little, but she could see sparkles of gratitude and a hint of what looked like want. She tried to hold his gaze, to show him that she was strong, but suddenly her breathing got heavier and she was overwhelmed with a desire to be near him, even closer, so she looked away to avoid a questioning look.

When Warden finally stopped, Paige lay back in bed and her head rolled to one side. The blood loss had been too much this time.

It could kill me, she thought.

She didn't care.

From the corner of her eye she watched as Warden stood up, put his shirt on and walked to the other side of the room. She listened as he hustled with some things before he came back and sat by her side.

"There are cookies here, but I've already told Michael to bring us something else." He presented the biscuits to Paige, but she shook her head.

"I'm fine" she said bluntly.

"Drink this glass of water then." He insited.

"I said I'm fine."

"Paige, your body needs to replace the fluid it has just lost. Please drink this."

Instead, Paige faced away from him.

Warden sighed, but he didn't move. Both of them remained like that for a few minutes, neither willing to give in. When Paige's vision blurred for the second time, she looked back at him, got up on her elbow and took the glass from his hand. She drank all of the water in one go, and when she finished she threw the glass at him.

"Happy now?"

Warden caught the glass in one hand and put it on the bedside table. He then looked back at Paige, and Paige's dreamscape quivered. Her breathing was heavy, but so was his.

"I should go" She said between breaths.

"You should sleep here tonight." He responded.

"Nashira would never allow this."

"Screw her", he echoed her words.

Before she could answer, they were both interrupted by the sound of the door opening. For a moment Paige panicked, thinking the woman she had just mentioned had materialised in front of her; but when she saw the skinny figure of Michael entering the room, she relaxed. He was carrying a tray with a few cut sandwiches and some juice.

"Thank you, Michael, put it on that table", She heard Warden say.

Paige took advantage of the situation and tried to stand up, but before she could be on her feet a dizziness overcame her and she was forced to remain seated. She watched as Michael put the tray on the table and left the room again. Once he was gone, Warden put a hand on Paige's chest and pushed her back down.

"Wait here," he said.

Warden left the room and went to the toilet. Meanwhile, Paige looked at the tray of sandwiches that Michael had brought in. She'd barely eaten last night, and they looked appetising. Warden came back, he was carrying a white gauze.

"Your hand it's still bleeding."

"It'll stop, eventually." Paige argued.

"Not soon enough."

"I can take care of it," she said, but was cut off by Warden taking her left hand in his hands. He cut off a long piece of the gauze and started to ravel it around her palm.

At that moment Paige felt a wave of emotions curse through her. There was pain, from the cut on her palm. There's was anger, at the fact that Warden wouldn't let her take care of it. There was frustration, because she was the one supposed to be taking care of him. There was longing, because Warden wasn't close enough to her.

It was excruciating.

When he finished bandaging her hand, Warden stood up and grabbed a sandwich from the tray. He offered it to Paige, but she refused. He sighed, and sat on the edge of the bed. Although through cloth, Paige couldn't help thinking that their bodies were touching, and her breathing increased.

Warden took the sandwich in one hand and put it in front of Paige's mouth.

"I'm not a baby, you know. I can eat myself." She spit.

"I know", he said, "but you won't, and you need to. Please open your mouth."

Paige thought about playing stubborn again. She couldn't stand up and leave because her head would get dizzy. She couldn't move because her vision would cloud. The only way she could fight his steadiness was by remaining with her mouth closed, but she knew sooner or later she would end up losing this battle, just like she had lost all the others.

So she decided to give in. She opened her mouth.

Warden carefully inserted the sandwich inside, and she took a bite out of it. When she swallowed, he neared the sandwich again and she took another bite, and so on. Warden never took eyes away from her, and neither did she. Once she had swallowed the last bite, Warden stood very still. Paige didn't dare move.

"You've got something on your mouth..." He said as he reached to her lips and wiped them with his fingers. His hand then rested on her cheek. Paige moved her right arm and rested her hand on his.

Would he understand what she was trying to tell him? Would he finally grasp how much she needed him, how much she wanted him? Would he perhaps feel the same way?

All those questions vanished as Warden closed his lips on hers, mouths colliding explosively.

Yes, of course he did.

Paige took her hands to his face and held his gaze steady as he kissed her passionately. Their kiss was rough, neither of them holding back. Their tounges touched, explored each other, played together. Warden's hand trailed down Paige's neck, and then he was touching her back, exploring her body. She twined her fingers in his hair, down his ears, his neck, his back, back up again... There was no logic movement, only desire.

A heat wave hit Paige, and she was overthrown with want, with need, with emotions she had never experienced before. Above them, their dreamscapes were shaking. Paige could feel as though a strong wind was blowing on her poppy field, and she was sure Warden could feel it too, no matter how deserted his dreamscape was.

As their bodies moved as one, he was finally giving her what she'd unknowingly craved for so long.

And she liked it. So much. Too much.

It hurt her to think that this was wrong, that it shouldn't be happening, that it was harshly punishable. She knew her worst punishment would be death, but it could be something even worse for Warden. She didn't want to endanger him, but she needed this. So much.

The guilt didn't wash away as Warden tugged at her clothes, willing them to disappear. And she wanted that too, but something stopped her.

What about Nick?

She loved him, that was for sure. But was she cheating on him by being with Warden, even though she knew could never be with Nick in this way?

Before she had time to process the information, Warden stopped.

"Don't stop" She managed to get out.

"Paige," He tried to say.

"Please don't stop" She insisted.

"Paige, you're crying." He said. He pulled away and examined her body.

"Did I hurt you?" He asked, this time the concern being too obvious in his voice.

"No, I..." She tried to say, but she didn't know how to explain.

"Do you want me to leave?" He asked. Paige was surprised by this, it showed how much Warden knew her, and knew she needed her space.

"No," She tried again. "I just... I just need..." Her voice failed her though, and the sobs overcame her.

"Shh," She heard him say. "It's okay." Paige was shivering.

"Just lay down again. You can sleep here. I'll get you another blanket." Despite his use of the word _can_, Paige could feel the authoritative tone on his voice that he used to order people around. This wasn't a plead, or a suggestion. This was an order.

When Paige wouldn't stop crying, Warden pushed her down on the bed again and covered her in another blanket. Paige let him, too weak to argue.

Warden came to her side and stood next to her.

"I expect to see you tonight. We have training to do". His manner was back to the usual, his tone resumed to the normal teacher voice he used on her.

Oh great, Paige thought. It's like nothing happened.

But just as she was about to go in a sulk, she felt Warden bend over, and felt his hand caressing her face.

"You are so beautiful." He whispered, and then he was gone.

Paige was left on his bed, fighting back tears.

How would their relationship play out the next night? How would he react the next time she came to save his life? How would she react when he saved hers?

Only one thing was clear. She needed him, he needed her. And that's all that mattered for now.

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** A/N: I might have softened Paige's character a little bit, but it was a while ago since I read the book so please don't judge too harshly! I didn't use a first person narrative because I'm still studying Paige's character, and didn't want ****_not_**** to make her justice. Third person is just easier.**

** You can follow me on twitter: Boneseasondream **

**You can follow Samy too: Say_Shannon.  
**

**And her madly talented bestie: L_leatutufu**

** Hope you enjoyed it!**


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